I find increasingly more difficult to be polite with JWs,
as they are now always dragging young children
with them. Also I hear more and more stories of their
children dying of diabetes and other rutinely
curable ailments - though I think there
were a few prosecutions now in the US.
Also, so far they've got all dates for the End
wrong - how can they go on with it?
Religion is a type of self-hypnosis, that can be
theraputic (sp?) for some ... but a waste of energy and loss
of critical faculties, or at worst, bigottry and wars
for others.
>> At 01:13 PM 5/2/97 -0700, Gabor Fencsik wrote:>> >As I said, they don't go door-to-door around here. The Jehovah's> >witnesses do. When they show up, we have a very short conversation, to> >which I contribute exactly six words: "Thank you, I am not interested."> >I recommend smiling while you say that.>> I am a real coward when it comes to such encounters. My very first> one was in Canada about two years after my arrival and I thought that the> best way out of the situation was to claim that my English was too poor.> (Well, it was poor but not so poor that I couldn't understand their stuff.).> However, it was no good. The next question was: "What is your mother> tongue?" I said that it was Hungarian, hoping that that would be the end of> it. But no, they smiled and they assured me that they have the Hungarian> version and they will return! And they did!!> Nowadays I get Jehovah's witnesses rather frequently. Always two> women: one white and one black but not necessarily the same ones. They start> telling me their story, pull out the last issue of Watch Tower. I keep> smiling and nodding when they tell me about how relevant the Bible is to the> modern world. And they give me the Watch Tower or some other publication. I> thank them and they leave. Sometime they return and ask whether I read the> Watch Tower or not. I tell that that yes I did and it was very interesting.> I simply don't have the heart to tell them to get lost. They look so earnest.> And that reminds me of what was going on in 1956/57. After arriving> in Austria we were most surprised to find out that suddenly religion was an> important consideration. It made a huge difference whether you were a> Catholic, a Protestant, or a Jew because most of the charities were> organized through church organizations. This could be a real nuisance. For> example, a group of us, who were eventually tired of "waiting for Godot" in> the Austrian Alps decided to travel to Vienna and expedite matters, were> sent to several different organizations to get the money for the train> tickets!! Of course, this system was open for abuse. The word spread in> Vienna: the Lutherans are giving away this or that. Suddenly a lot of people> became Lutherans.> In any case, after arriving in Canada, the churches started> pestering you. If the Catholic priest phoned, I was Hungarian Reformed> (which I was) but when the Hungarian Reformed minister phoned suddenly I> became a Catholic. That system worked very nicely. ESB>>>>>

aheringer wrote:
>> >Well, when people commit crimes in the name of what-you-have, it is> >not necessarly the fault of the people starting with what-you-have> >back in old days...> >Regards> >MKH>> I fully agree with this and your previous posting. Agnes
Hello Agnes, you4ve been silent for a while.
Welcome back.
Miklos

aheringer wrote:
>> >> >Many people are religious and believe that their faith will make this a> >better world. Why is it that I can't criticize them without people> calling> >me intolerant?> >Nothing is wrong with religious people who find comfort in their> religion as long as they don't want other people to believe in their> ideas too. I respect everybody's religion - but I expect everybody> respecting mine too.>> Agnes
Will they learn that? If you listen to the list, sometimes it doesn4t
look like...
Miklos

S.Stowe was refering to this earlier post:
>In article >,>Peter Stefanics > writes:>>>>>I guess claiming that Janos is a stupid and unimaginative liar doesn't>>quite belong in a rational argument.>>>>Truly,>>>>Peter Stefanics "Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government>of>>(413-597-6723) any other." - John Adams, 1798>>>> "When rap is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.">>
What is this ? I did not get this earlier letter from P.Stefanics. Furthermore
I checked all the last seven Hungary issues, and I could not find any trace of
these posts. What is going on here?
J.Zs

>Well, when people commit crimes in the name of what-you-have, it is>not necessarly the fault of the people starting with what-you-have>back in old days...>Regards>MKH
I fully agree with this and your previous posting. Agnes

>>Many people are religious and believe that their faith will make this a>better world. Why is it that I can't criticize them without people
calling
>me intolerant?>Nothing is wrong with religious people who find comfort in their
religion as long as they don't want other people to believe in their
ideas too. I respect everybody's religion - but I expect everybody
respecting mine too.
Agnes